1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a steering knuckle assembly for a steering apparatus in a motor vehicle, which is capable of improving work efficiency associated with the separation of a tie rod from the knuckle as well as work convenience in changing a ball joint point at an end of the tie rod having great influence on toe changes or toe conditions of the vehicle, whereby a proper toe angle can be achieved without developing a new knuckle assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, the steering apparatus of a vehicle allows a driver to steer the vehicle to any direction he or she wants to go, and includes an operation structure, a gear unit, and a link structure.
The operation structure is composed of a steering wheel, a steering shaft, and a column. When the driver operates the steering wheel, the gear unit and the link structure get influenced of the operation of the steering wheel.
The gear unit is a part that changes the driving direction of the operation structure and transfers its momentum to the link structure. Typically, a rack and a pinion are used in a small-sized car. As the pinion rotates, the rack engaged with the pinion moves horizontally from side to side.
Lastly, the link structure is a part that transfers the operation or motion of the gear to front wheels and at the same time, ensures correct wheel alignment on both sides. Usually, the link structure includes a tie rod connected to both ends of the rack, and a steering knuckle coupled with a ball joint at the end of the tie rod.
As such, when the driver operates the steering wheel, the tie rod connected to the rack moves from side to side, under operations of the pinion and the rack, and as a result thereof, the wheel is steered to a desired direction.
Among the steering apparatus aforementioned, particularly a steering knuckle assembly has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,150 and Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 5-193513 and 6-201305. According to their teachings, a hub is inserted into a central portion of the knuckle, and using a ball bearing as a medium, an (vehicle) axle is fit in. Also, a brake disc is mounted on the hub.
Further, a ball joint bracket is mounted on the lower portion of the knuckle to have a ball joint disposed at the end of a lower arm of a suspension coupled thereto, and the end of the tie rod is connected to the ball joint. On the upper portion of the knuckle, on the other hand, is a caliper for generating a brake force by pressing the rotatory brake disc.
Here, a ball stud affixed to the end of the tie rod is inserted into the knuckle and fastened thereto by a nut. In this manner, the tie rod and the knuckle make a ball joint connection together. To prevent the nut from loosening from the ball stud, a split pin is inserted into the ball stud.
In the related art knuckle assembly, however, when the tie rod needs to be separated from the knuckle, the space between the ball joint connecting portion of the tie rod and the caliper mounting portion was so small that it was not easy to remove the split pin affixed to the ball joint connecting portion without deteriorating work efficiency.
Moreover, if a tie rod end point (the center of the ball joint connecting the tie rod with the knuckle) known to have critical influence on toe conditions of the vehicle is changed, the entire knuckle assembly had to be newly developed, and in so doing, manufacture cost was increased and work efficiency was lowered.